DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 vs Step 5 Preview
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 took 7 min 16 s and $0.068 at list price, Step 5 Preview took 10 min 44 s and $0.33 at list price. Step 5 Preview took 1.5× as long and cost 4.8× as much.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017
DeepSeek · $0.60/M out · 1,693 HN pts
Step 5 Preview
StepFun · $2.70/M out · 155 HN pts
Pelican
Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle
Watch
Draw a mechanical wristwatch that shows the current local time, with a sweeping seconds hand and a date window. Make it look expensive.
Landing
Build the landing page for Lumen Cycles, a Copenhagen workshop that builds custom cargo bikes to order. Make it look like a real brand you would trust with 4,000 euros.
Breakout
Make a Breakout game I can play right now with the keyboard or the mouse. Give it several levels, a score and some juice.
Logo
Design a logo for Night Heron, an independent bookshop that only opens after dark.
About
Write the opening of the About us page for Patchbay, a three-person studio in Rotterdam that repairs vintage synthesizers. About 150 words.
Patchbay is a three-person studio in Rotterdam devoted to keeping vintage synthesizers making the sounds they were built to make. We repair, service and restore analog instruments from the late 1960s onward, from familiar Moogs and ARPs to oddities with no service manual. Every synth that comes through the door is treated as a working instrument rather than a museum piece. We trace faults, rebuild power supplies, refresh capacitors, clean keybeds and calibrate oscillators, always with an eye on reliability and the character that made the machine worth saving. We document what we do, explain the options clearly and never replace more than necessary. Whether you need one dead voice brought back or a full restoration, we work carefully, at the bench and in conversation with you. Old synths belong on records and stages, and our job is to keep them there.
Patchbay is a three-person workshop based in Rotterdam, dedicated to keeping vintage synthesizers alive and playable. We are technicians, musicians, and obsessive tinkerers who believe that classic analog instruments deserve better than silence. From temperamental Jupiter-8s to worn-out ARP Odysseys, we restore, repair, and maintain the machines that shaped the sound of modern music. Every repair starts with listening—both to the instrument and to the person who plays it. Whether you are chasing a rare fault, need a full calibration, or simply want your old synth to feel new again, our bench is open. We understand that no two synthesizers arrive with the same story, and we treat each circuit, slider, and key with the care its history deserves. At Patchbay, we are here to make sure the sounds of tomorrow are built on those that came before.
Specs and numbers
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 | Step 5 Preview | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | DeepSeek | StepFun |
| Made in | China | China |
| Released | 17 Oct 2026 | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $0.15 | $1.00 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $0.60 | $2.70 |
| Context | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Weights | open | open |
| Hacker News points | 1,693 | 155 |
| Time for the six prompts | 7 min 16 s | 10 min 44 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.068 | $0.33 |
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 was cheaper: $0.26 less at list price, and less on each of the 6 prompts. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 was faster: 3 min 28 s less in total, and faster on 3 of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, both Breakout games play.
Rebuild this screen experiment: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017's rebuild matched the screenshot at 57%; Step 5 Preview was not in it. Tea Garden experiment: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017's game passed 5 of 5 checks; Step 5 Preview was not in it.





